January 2011 - Mental Health Update

Brain structure and social networks

The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure deep within the temporal lobe of the brain. Research on apes and monkeys has shown that the more sociable they are the larger their amygdalas and a new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital suggests...

Published Tue, Jan 11 2011 3:13 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience, Social Networks

NICE updates anxiety guidelines

The U.K.'s National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has updated its guidance on the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). It says that patients should not be offered benzodiazepines or antipsychotics but should be educated about...

Published Wed, Jan 26 2011 2:19 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Anxiety Disorders

Family support and depression

High levels of support from one's family are associated with a more rapid recovery from depression while low levels are linked to people being ill for longer. However, there have been few long-term studies into this issue. Researchers from Stanford...

Published Fri, Jan 21 2011 3:47 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Social Support, Service Users' Families

Schizophrenia and shrinking brains

Brain scans could be used to help people at risk of developing schizophrenia so that they can be offered help before they become unwell. Schizophrenia is known to run in families and researchers from Edinburgh University compared 146 people with a family...

Published Mon, Jan 17 2011 2:34 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia, Neuroscience

ADHD and the daydreaming brain

The default mode network (DMN) connects various parts of the brain; it is active when we are daydreaming or staring into space and gives rise to spontaneous thought but is suppressed when we are concentrating on a particular task. New research from the...

Published Thu, Jan 06 2011 2:10 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience, ADHD

Gene linked to drunken impulsiveness

Some people who are relatively mild-mannered most of the time can become violent after a few drinks. Researchers from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Maryland compared the genes of people who had acted impulsively under the influence...

Published Wed, Jan 12 2011 3:49 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems, Violence, Genetics

Migraines change brain but don't affect cognition

People who suffer from migraines and severe headaches do show changes to their brain over time but don't show symptoms of cognitive decline. Researchers from Inserm and the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris studied 780 people over 65. They studied...

Published Wed, Jan 26 2011 2:53 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience, Migraine

Parent-training programmes for autism

Parents of children with autism often attend training programmes to help them cope and with the hope that they will improve their child's symptoms and behaviour. A programme called Early Bird is aimed at pre-school children and a programme called...

Published Fri, Jan 21 2011 4:10 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Autism

What to do with people who fall through the gaps?

Unless people present a danger to themselves or others mental health services don't treat them until they voluntarily seek help. Psychologists now think that people might be at risk of developing psychosis for a while before they become severely ill...

Published Wed, Jan 05 2011 2:01 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Psychosis

Sibling age differences and autism

Children who are born closer in age to their older siblings may have an increased risk of being diagnosed with autism. Researchers from Columbia University in New York studied more than 600,000 pairs of siblings born in California between 1992 and 2002...

Published Mon, Jan 10 2011 6:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Autism

Executive dysfunction, problem-solving and depression

People with executive dysfunction have problems setting goals, planning, initiating and sequencing behaviour. Executive dysfunction is often a symptom of depression and a team of researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York studied the effectiveness...

Published Tue, Jan 04 2011 2:31 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Problem-Solving Therapy

Survey shows mental-health problems in menopausal women

Compared to men women go through a number of hormonal changes throughout their life which can also affect their mental health. Menopause is associated with depression, sleep disturbances, anxiety and irritability and researchers from Selcuk University...

Published Fri, Jan 14 2011 2:07 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Anxiety Disorders

Energy drinks make virtually no difference

Drinking so-called energy drinks alongside alcohol has no effect on people's driving ability or alertness. Researchers from Boston University School of Public Health and Brown University in Rhode Island studied 129 people, aged between 21 and 30....

Published Fri, Jan 14 2011 3:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems, Caffeine

Brain structures and video-game performance

Researchers from the University of Illinois have been looking into the links between brain structures and learning. They studied 34 people looking at brain activity in structures called the caudate nucleus, the putamen and the nucleus accumbens. The caudate...

Published Mon, Jan 17 2011 1:39 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience

New blood test for Alzheimer's could be new breakthrough

Researchers from the Florida campus of the Scripps Research Institute have developed a new blood test for Alzheimer's disease which could detect the condition much earlier than current methods. The test is based on the body's immune system which...

Published Fri, Jan 07 2011 2:22 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease